


The Red Lady

by RedHoodsDoll



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Kwamis, F/M, Identity Reveal, Red Lady AU, Vampire Hunter AU, Vampire Hunters, Vampires, Weddings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:08:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23602828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedHoodsDoll/pseuds/RedHoodsDoll
Summary: Marinette was the descendant of the creator of the Red Lady society, a mantle she uphold to protect the humans from the supernaturals greatest threats. So when she comes home from a mission to find a vampire has decided to enter her village, she knows what to do and how to do it.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire & Nino Lahiffe, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	The Red Lady

Midnight. It was midnight and the crescent moon that was leading into the new moon hung high in the sky, shedding little light on the scene in front of her. The Red Lady was forced to keep watch with the light being cast from the torches holding flickering flames that had been bestowed on either side of the pub's doors. She leaned on the alley wall in wait, watching those who entered, but mostly her attention was on those who exited. She was watching, waiting for her prey who was sure to show themselves sooner rather than later.

She had been gone for work when it had happened. A woman had been wooed by a beautiful male in the pub, but woke in her home unsure of how she got there with the front of her blouse bloody. Red Lady of course knew exactly what that meant, but even the most superstitious of her town weren't always able to understand the happenings around them. Sure they knew the stories. 'Don't stay out after dark, lest a vampires catches you. If they don't drain you, they may turn you. Shall they turn you, the Red Lady finds you and takes care of you in a permanent manner.' It was a common children's tale for humans and vampires alike.

So here she stood, moonlight a muted shade as she watched over her town once again. She readjusted the red skirt so that she could move properly when she spotted the one who stood out to her. They usually were quite easy to spot if you knew what to look for. The doors opened again and she prepared to run out until she saw it was the husband and wife who lived down the street from her. With a sigh, knowing they were very human, she leaned against the bricks once more. This was going to be a long night, if this was any indication. Long nights were the hard ones, they let you become comfortable, and comfort led to complacency.

So when she heard, "Don't you know it's rude to stalk others, my lady?" Well, the Red Lady would have jumped out of her skin if she wasn't already used to this. 

She lazily turned her head towards the voice and found herself pleased with the view. She drank in the image of one of the most handsome men she had ever laid eyes on. His golden blonde hair messily styled into his ponytail, the green eyes that glinted like gems from behind the black mask matching her own, and those pink lips that were full and guaranteed to hide his fangs. She had been watching for him and here he was.

"Don't you know it's rude to sneak up on a woman, monsieur?" She said awaiting him to give her his name, knowing that he would barter around the request with the same ease that she did.

"You may call me Chat Noir, mademoiselle." He swept into a bow and stole her hand from its hanging to position so that he could bring it to his lips and press a chaste kiss to her bruised knuckles. The softness of his skin touching hers surprised her, but she still stole back her hand and held it to her chest, not trusting him to not sink his teeth into the flesh of her wrist.

Marinette let out a soft snort of laughter before nodding. "Chat Noir? That is quite the name for man to have when sneaking around in the middle of the night. If I were to assume, I would suppose it is not your given name?"

His smirk was gentle on his face but caused Marinette to see the trouble maker he truly was behind the mask. "Is it that strange? I do believe I just approached the woman who was standing in the alley while watching all of those who pass her by, and to me that seems much more of an oddity. Now that you know what to call me, may I have your name?"

Marinette shook her head. "At this time of night when we are having times such as these? I think my name would be a dangerous thing in anyone's hands. However, many call me the Red Lady, so if you must call me by anything, I suppose that will do." She gestured down at the red flowing dress and his eyes drank in her athletic form, clearly enjoying the view she was giving him.

He leaned into her personal space and pursed his lips. "And how am I ever so lucky to have been graced with meeting the Red Lady?"

"Some are just lucky like that, Chat Noir." Marinette's lips quirked at his monotone facial expression. It was exactly the reaction she had anticipated. Cool, calm, collected. Very much signs of a vampire who thought they would have the upper hand. Her fingers danced along her hip, waiting for the proper moment.

Chat Noir nodded slowly, still drinking in her appealing appearance. "Well, how of this my lady? Allow a gentleman such as myself to walk you to your door?"

"My door?" She questioned, noting the specific wording. It screamed out as a warning in her head, all the alarm bells sounding, but she humored him. He had wisdom, and the banter she craved in her lonely life.

"Your door. What kind of gentleman would I be if I requested you to let me take you home at this time of night, no matter the circumstances." He said reaching out his arm for her to take. A moment of thought, the idea of it being a trap crossing her mind as her heart fluttered, but she smoothed it down as she took control.

She slipped her hand through his offered arm. "I accept on one condition, chaton."

Chat took a step forward and guided her that step before saying, "And what of the one condition?"

"Smile for me, Chat Noir?" Marinette said as she smiled a full set of teeth at the man. His eyes grew wide and he removed himself from her grip.

"Alright." He let a small smile bestow his lips without ever revealing a single pearly white. The glint in his eyes as he lowered himself into a bow, like he was awaiting her to applaud him like a poet in front of an audience.

Marinette chuckled as she reached behind her and pulled the smooth wooden blade from where her corset met her skirts. "Oh Chat Noir, you thought I would allow you to guide me home? I even warned you who I was. And now, here we are, whatever should I do?"

He bared his teeth in a grin and revealed the curved fangs that sat where a normal human's short canines would be. The blade danced back and forth between Marinette's finger as she tilted her head, her gaze following his every move. He lifted himself to his full stance and rolled his eyes.

"Oh my lady, you should put that away. All I requested was to walk you to your door, not even your home." He crossed his arm and her eyes were drawn to how the black leather tightened across his biceps at the movement. 

"Is that all, Monsieur?" She took a step forward, skirts swirling around her ankles, giving off the appearance of a queen approaching someone she had already deemed unworthy of her time.

"The only other thing I would dare request of such a beautiful woman would be a kiss goodnight." His presence engulfed her as he met her step for step. She found herself being backed into the corner, nowhere to go. "Well, my lady? Will you bless me with a kiss?"

Her blade rested gently against his breast bone, she thought through her options. Kiss him and stab him while he was distracted? Or maybe just a quick jab through the ribs. She leaned forward, her wrist twisting back, but he caught her clothed forearm and the other hand flung the blade from between them. A gasp escaped her lips and she watched as the wooden piece spun to stop at the end of the alley. This was no freshly created vampire, he moved fast and recognized the gives in her movements.

"I do believe you know the difference between a kiss and a stab even if you've never laid in my bed." He purred, running his nose along her cheek. She flattened herself against the wall and pushed, but her arms were captured between them and it hardly budged him.

"Is that so?" She took a chance and quickly pressed her lips to his cheek before retreating, but alas he didn't release her so she could collect her weapon, if anything it appeared she had lit a fire inside him as he grabbed a hold of her chin.

"Yes it is Marinette. I have been nothing but a gentleman to you, yet you try to stab me when I simply offered you my protection." Chat Noir's voice had deepened and it was hard to pull her eyes away from his fangs as he spoke. He tilted her face so that she was forced to look into his eyes and she swallowed.

"I know of no vampire that would bother attempting to name me. How dare you?" Her blue eyes narrowed as she struggled against him. He was built, a full head taller than herself, and twice as wide. He released her wrist and reached behind her head, making quick work of the knot that held her mask to her eyes.

The rumble in his chest was her only indication that he had heard what she said. "Well my lady, I dare try to name you seeing as I know your name. I've been watching you for some time Red Lady. You've always fascinated me, and your stubbornness especially was enticing. I knew I had to have you, Marinette Dupain. Now shall we walk home?"

And just like that, the severity of the situation was no longer. Marinette threw her head back with a barking laugh. "You dared to name me when you don't even know my name, you psychotic cat."

"What witchcraft is this?" He muttered, pulling away from her and releasing his hold on her chin as her mask fluttered back into the Marinette's hand.

She shook her head and advanced on him. "Witchcraft? No, it's quite the opposite, Chat. Every Red Lady knows better than to let a supernatural name her, thus we are given a secret name. One that's burned from the books of history so that no one can control us. How else would we survive for so long among the creatures of the night?"

She backed him into the bricks on the opposite side of the alley where he stared down at her lithe form. She would have to sprint to grab her knife, but currently she felt in control and on top of the world watching him submit into cowering from her. "Well, there's more than one way to get what I want."

In a flash of movement he gripped her upper arms and spun them so their spots were switched. Marinette shrugged her shoulders up and ducked her chin against her chest. A weak position in a fight, but they weren't fighting. Chat Noir was too busy trying to dig his fangs into her throat so that he could take control of her and end the line of Red Lady's. His forefinger attempted to wiggle under her jaw and pull her head up, but she wouldn't budge.

"Come on Marinette, just give in. It's easier this way." His nose brushed against her cheek.

"You vampires are all the same. You all believe you were god's given miracle to the earth. Thinking just a voice and the word please are all you need to have women throw themselves at your feet. You are a fool, just like the rest of them." Marinette stomped on his foot, but beyond wincing he did not move. "Let me tell you, other's have turned the charm up much more than you and died for their idiocy."

A sigh of displeasure and Chat Noir released her. He took a step back and offered her arm. "Then allow me to prove myself different. Prince Adrien at your duty, m'lady. I draw a truce for this evening if you are willing to concede. My only request is once more, that you allow me to walk you to your door."

"An honest truce?" Marinette asked, stepping off the wall and ahead of the so-called prince. She had realized he was no ordinary vampire, but for him to reveal he was royalty? It seemed too insane to possibly be true.

He nodded. "I will write it in blood if you so desire." Marinette took a breath that came across far more shaky than she had meant for it to be. She dipped her arm below his own and let her ungloved hand rest inside of his bare forearm. 

"If and only if this is a truce do I concede with allowing you to escort me to my door, Prince Adrien."

"And that I shall." It was quiet. The only sound heard as they strolled from the center of town to the outskirts was the whirl of Red Lady's skirts, and Chat Noir's pants rustling as the legs brushed against one another. A sigh left his lips and allowed Marinette to catch sight of the tips of fangs peeking out.

"What brought you out to my village, your highness? Did not a soul warn you that this village is under my protection and no matter the vampire, they are unwelcome within these walls?" Marinette asked as she scanned the forest edges for signs of life. It wasn't unusual for some creature to be out there. It was like this place was a beacon for the supernatural to be crawling in the woods.

The man beside her chuckled and stopped as they arrived at her door. "Why yes. Many have warned me that Marinette Red Lady Dupain-Cheng lives in this town and as such it falls under the protection of the Red Ladies."

The sound that left her throat was like she had been strangled and stabbed at the same time. Her blood ran cold as the vampire beside her named her, at her own doorway. She opened her mouth but no words formed. She barely had the brain capacity to rip her hand away from his arm.

"What? Chat got your tongue?" He cocked his head to the side and took in her form that had fear radiating from her every pore.

"You, that's impossible. How!" She demanded, her voice booming across the roads of the sleeping village.

Adrien smirked. "I did warn you that I was royal blood. I had assumed you knew that by my namesake I'm the one who is able to read memories. I just had to have enough contact with you to get your name. But that's no reason to fear me. It is like I told you, my lady. I have no need to kill you. I just wanted you for myself, Marinette. I believe my words were that I was going to walk you to your door, and have we not arrived?"

Marinette's eyes were wide as she quickly nodded. 

"Then go inside, and sleep well knowing that not only are you the Red Lady, but you are also under my protection now as well, Princess. I will be back another day so that I can collect you, but until then, rest easy and know that I will not bring you any harm. My only want is to bring the joy to your life that you so desire." He once again took her hand and kissed the back of it before stepping away into the night, leaving her brains scrambled.

And she was stuck in that state of mind for the coming days. She had much to prepare and she never dared stray far from her home lest she come home and find a clan of vampires brought in by the prince. She refused hosting of the biweekly meeting of the Red Ladies, stating she had become sick after the last slaying she had participated in. Her friend had sent word that she would be by later in the week to check on her to make sure she was taking care of herself, but she had sent another letter refusing even that company.

She had never lived in fear of the vampires. Marinette had been raised to kill them. Why would she fear the very thing she had been raised to destroy? Yet her life was paralyzed by the fact that a royal blooded male vampire that was as handsome as ever had named her. And then left her after stating he was protecting her. He had threatened he would come to collect, but she couldn't imagine what he had even meant by that.

On the fifth day when storms took over the town, she had convinced herself she truly had been sick and it was all a terrible fever dream. That was, until the pounding on the door. She rushed over and opened it, anticipating her friend Alya had arrived at a poor time, but was struck by the image of a drenched prince leaning in the doorway. "May I come in?"

"You know you are able to force me?" Marinette whispered.

"Yet here I am asking your permission."

"I give you my permission to enter if you abide by the household permission ruling system."

"I agree to your terms." 

And with no gusto, he slunk inside the door, letting it slam behind him with a gust of wind. Marinette helped him to shuck his waterlogged jacket and hang it next to her own cloak. "Do vampires not mind being caught in a monsoon?" She dared question as she guided him to sit in her seating area while she gathered the ingredients for tea.

"We mind, but I was already almost here and was not willing to let it deter me."

"Deter you? From what? Coming to collect?" Marinette snorted as she poured the hot water over the metal clasp that held the dry ingredients.

Adrien clicked his tongue. "Though that idea is rather enticing, that was not my goal today. Today my goal is to learn." 

A roll of her eyes as she finished preparing both cups before bringing the one to him. She clasped the other between her hands and sat in the seat across from him, so that she could study him up close and personal while she waited to see what he would do. While he had agreed to abide by the household permission ruling system, he was able to use her name and force his way here if he so chose to do so. "Learn? From my experience most of your kind are too old and arrogant to realize they can still learn something from this world. How old does that make you?"

"Tongue as sharp as silver, words cool as ice, that's what makes the Red Ladies the fantasy, dying at their hand is almost nice." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "That is the first verse of the riddle of vampire code on the Red Lady society. I believe it suits you."

Marinette studied him, he was not making any movements to exaggerate the claim, it was sincere in a form she had trouble recognizing as true honesty. "Hmm, it may suit me, but what of your mission being to learn?"

He locked his gaze on her and his lips curled into a soft smile. "Cunning, knowledgeable, demanding. You are the fortune and pride of the society, are you not, Red Lady?"

"I may or may not be. What of it?" She simply sipped her tea, refusing to satisfy him with a full answer.

His head tilted in a way that caused her heart to pick up pace, but it was so relaxed and lazy that it lulled her back to her sense of controlling the situation. "Do you not understand why I struck my claim on you? Why you have my promise and protection? Why I flatly refuse to force your will to mine?"

"I believe that you are a sore excuse of a royal vampire if those are your true intentions, but I believe you are trying to falsify my sense of security around you and thus you are treating me how a human treats another human." Marinette swallowed the snicker building in her throat to hide her pride at causing the vampire in front of her to bristle.

"Then you are not as worthy of the high praises that were bestowed upon you."

Her entire face went slack before she narrowed her eyes on him. "Would you like to see how worthy I am?"

"I have. That's why I chose you. A true Red Lady, in flesh and most importantly blood. Are you not a direct descendant?" He asked the loaded question with too much ease.

"Impossible, there's no history of the true bloodline."

"Wrong, there's no written history. I live for stories though, and some of the most important stories come from the oral histories and traditions. I know the entire verse of the line of Redock. The line begins with Maeva Redock who birthed Justina Red who birthed Lillian Red who birthed Sabine Red-Cheng who birthed you." He had his hand extended and a finger trained on Marinette's figure that had folded in on itself as each name charged the energy in her room.

"You can't possibly believe that."

"I know it to be fact. And so I found you, the true Red Lady. You were everything the tales called you to be, especially when you are in action. I have watched you for many moons, but I had to guide you to me. You had to approach me when the time was right. And here we are, hidden away in your home, during the worst monsoon of the season. Have you yet to realize why?" He was no longer seated. His hands were posted on either arm of her chair, his entire form towering over hers. She felt dwarfed by his stature, and wished she had grabbed a knife to place in her skirt.

"Why?" The word fell from her lips in a swan dive. His hand darted out and grabbed her chin and lifted her face to look into his own. No fear, no dishonesty, no hidden truths. It was just the two of them in a small cabin hidden from the world by sheets of rain that fell on the home.

"True heirs must complete the throne to unite the forces to right natures wrong." The prophecy of old ignited the fear in her blood. It rushed through her entire body as she began to tremble.

"Prince Adrien? Adrien of the house of Agreste?" Her voice wavered, no longer filled with fearless strength that usually controlled her every decision.

She swore she could feel his chest rumble at the recognition. "So you aren't as dumb as you have pretended to be?"

"You think the prophecy pertains to us?" She gulped down her ignorance and began to process the different feelings that filled her head. It made some sense, but was absurd on so many levels and in such many forms that she couldn't begin to explain, but it fit together like the last puzzle piece falling in place.

Adrien stroked her cheek and nodded. "I believe that it is our time to unify the realms once again. Complete what nature did not. My kind and yours, no longer at war, but in peace."

A gasp left Marinette at the contact. She quickly pushed him off. "Don't do that again. Don't root through my memories like the village dump, it's inhumane."

"I'm inhumane."

"Not if you're asking of me what it seems you are. I won't do it if you act like this." Marinette planted her feet and shoved out of the chair, barely coming to his mid chest but there was enough force in the movement that he staggered back a step.

He went from treating her like prey, to bending his knee until it landed on the cold wood floorboards and bowing his head. "I'm asking you to be my princess so that the Red Lady society may rest and the supernatural can be at peace with humans once more."

"Only if it is by my terms." No longer wavering, her voice called out louder than the raging storm outside that seemed to roar louder at her proclamation.

The blonde in front of her took only a beat to think before he reached out to her and waited for her hand. "I accept."

She placed her hand in his and allowed him to kiss her knuckles once more. "Good. Shall we discuss the terms now?"

He kissed her wrist. "I already accepted your terms."

"Without any consideration. I refuse to enter a deal under anything except full understanding." Marinette said watching as he then kissed her forearm that laid exposed from her short sleeve dress.

"Fair is she, with an understanding of justice, known to no being, beyond herself and her women in waiting." He pressed another to her elbow. 

"And do as she will unto the supernatural as she would unto the beast of hell itself, no mercy allowed in the rings of inferno." Her bicep now, but she couldn't find the part of herself that would refuse these advances, she was too enamored in watching his work and hearing his words of appreciation.

"For she is the Red Lady, her skirts awash with the blood of her enemies, and the kindness of the women who loved her." The feeling of his lips under the sleeve of her dress at her shoulder caused a shudder to rake over her form with an unfamiliar sensation.

"She is judge, jury, executioner and does so in a fashion only to be described as miraculous." Her collar bone being blessed with the touch of his lips had her feeling as though she had melted into a puddle at his feet, but her legs stood true.

"The true Red Lady, does no harm to those undeserving, only to those who have earned the right to a final death in the seventh circle." The bells rang in her head, warning her that his lips were caressing her neck, and that she should pull away, but it felt magical, such as a spell placed on her to make her stay in place and witness what was unfolding rather than interrupt it.

"Oh Red Lady, who never sways from her duties of protection and love, do unto man as you do unto inhumane characters, for the men who do not fall at your feet do not deserve to be in your aura itself." Her jaw, something she had never imagined anyone kissing, but it set the blaze on her cheeks quickly.

"Red Lady, the woman that raises hell fire on earth itself, but acts in the creator's path carrying his sword and his blessing, that follows no one's rules but her own, dare I request, at the cost of my life, for you to bestow your grace in my life in a permanent manner. Allow me the right to be your husband, your prince, and all I request in return is that I be allowed to stay at your side down eternity's twisting path." A true Red Lady proposal. It was unheard of for a man being able to propose without stutter, without failing the words in one form or another, yet here was a vampire that was awaiting her answer, a final kiss on his lips for her response, having done the whole thing off memory of oral tales alone. It was impossible, unheard of, yet he was in front of her and had proved how real he was.

Her heart hammered in her chest, reminding her to breathe. In, and out, and "I agree to allow you to be at my side on my eternal battle to right the wrongs of this world. A true husband of the Red Lady, I will allow for you to become."

He leaned into her and his nose brushed hers as their lips collided, soft, exploratory at first. They pulled away and gazed, before colliding once again. 

His hands grasping her hips and holding her close as she flung her arms around his neck and locked him in place. The storm slowed outside, but inside it was becoming faster and more lust filled with the gaining seconds. Pulling back to breathe, she allowed him to continue his lips down her neck once more, trusting him to abide by the laws of her home.

Peace, that was what she had felt in those moments. Even as he walked them until her back hit the wall. 

Peace was what she felt as she pressed her fingers into his silky blonde locks and guided him back to her lips once her breath was as caught as it could be. The feeling had filled her body and mind even as he lifted her off her feet and pressed her legs around his waist and left her pinned between the wall and his built frame. The fickle thing about such an emotion was it led to a feeling of safety which caused focus to lack and allowed things to slip.

So when the sound of something heavy hitting the floor caused the pair to break apart without Adrien releasing Marinette, it was quite the rude awakening. "Alya!" The squeak that escaped Marinette's mouth was adorable to Adrien, but absolutely humiliating to Marinette. She pushed on his chest in an attempt to release her, but he held fast.

"That's, Marinette, run." Alya raised her hidden crossbow, but Marinette reacted quicker than a regular human could. She was born for this, raised for it, she was a true Red Lady. She grabbed the iron sword off her wall and jumped from the grasp of her future husband. She landed on her feet and swung the sword through the air, cutting the whistling arrow in half and throwing it to the floor in a single motion, protecting herself and the prince from her best friend's murder attempt.

"Alya, stop. Listen to me." Marinette ordered but the red head was focused on the hunt. And Marinette had just subjected herself to it as well.

"He put you under his spell. Smart one. You won't live long enough to accept that compliment." Alya's grin was twisted, believing she was saving her best friend from a fate worse than death itself.

So the raven haired woman did the only thing she logically could. She turned, letting her fist hit home and rendering Adrien unconscious before whirling back on her friend. "Alya Christine Red Woman Cesaire if you so much as raise that weapon at me once more I swear upon the salts of the earth you won't get it back."

"Mari, what in the devil's name are you doing? You had your lips locked with him and your womanhood all up in his business! That is a royal vampire or are you blind?" The woman shouted approaching Marinette.

"I am aware and I will explain everything, later. You need to leave before he wakes up. He won't be as forgiving of you as I am."

"He will kill you."

"He had the chance before, but he came here on my terms."

"For what!" Alya's shout broke the reverence Marinette had on not losing her temper.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking slowly. "The prophecy."

"The one of the old earth?" Alya's eyebrows were in her hairline.

"The very one."

"Are you aware that the prophecy is a millennia old, older than humanity?"

"Are you aware that a prophecy must be fulfilled no matter the age. Our world is out of balance until it is complete." Marinette hung the sword on the wall and ducked down to pull Adrien off the floor. She dropped him in a heap on the chair he originally had taken.

"So you take it upon yourself?" Alya's laughter was close to a bark as tears poured from her eyes. "Don't you know that it has to be a true heir."

Marinette waited, stone cold still, for the realization to dawn upon Alya. It took her longer than she would have liked. "Mari, you must be kidding. You're Maeva's heir?"

"Her blood runs in my veins. It is my duty to complete the duty that she failed. He used the proper Red Lady proposal after agreeing to my terms which remain unnamed."

"Your mother will kill you if you accepted."

"I have." 

The groan that left her friend hardly concerned her. "Your mother will kill me when I inform her."

"You will do nothing of the sort. I have already established the next meeting to be here in a week's time. That's when I'll inform her. Now you must leave, I refuse to allow him the joy of ripping your throat out, but I don't think I can stop him if he so wished."

Alya rolled her eyes. "Or you just want to get back to kissing your vampire prince. Besides, he accepted to your terms, he can't touch me."

The frown that etched into Marinette's face caused a spark of fear to erupt in her friend's stomach. "We are not married as of yet,"

"That shouldn't matter, he's just a vampire, he is nothing compared to your training, compared to you." Alya's hand touched her shoulder and Marinette gave her friend a quick hug.

"Leave, before he wakes. He won't be angry with me, just with you for almost killing us."

"Marinette, does he?"

"Does it matter? Alya, leave." Marinette pleaded with her friend, begging her to leave with her life before she left in pieces. The groan coming from her chair alerted her to his waking. "I love you, sister. Safe journey."

A swift shove out the door and slamming it behind her for good measure. She turned and met the man of her future eye to eye. "Good timing, princess."

"Shall we return to discussing my terms?"

"If that's what it takes for me to get you to our original positions, then of course. I wouldn't have hurt your friend had you asked her life spared." Adrien said touching her neck in a gesture that left her reeling.

"Would you have spared the woman who attempted to kill you?" Marinette mused as she waltzed back to the small table she had centered in her kitchen.

"Scorn her, but not have taken her life. I can be reasonable when thinking properly." He gripped her shoulders and pulled her to a stop. "However, you were something else entirely. No warning, just taking me from the conscious world, what of that my lady?"

Marinette could feel his breath roll across her shoulder before he pressed his face into her hair. She ignored every single one of the ingrained instincts that told her to fight him off, knowing that it would only cause her more turmoil. Besides, hadn't she enjoyed the feeling of him against her? She had accepted the proposal, enchanting as it was, no witchcraft was involved. She had said her acceptance of her own volition and thrown herself into this mess. Maybe because he offered her the peace she wanted for her world and its future, or maybe it was the yearn for a companion after the years of solitude from the world. She couldn't deny the prince was handsome and intelligent, and his way with words was art incarnated, but she felt that couldn't possibly be what would sway. No, this was something more. 

"My my my, Marinette, must you think so deeply for a conclusion?" He startled her from her thoughts, bringing her back to the present. 

"My apologies. I did it to not only protect Alya from sudden death, but also yourself." Marinette let him guide her to the chair that sat at the head of the table and he took the place next to her.

"Myself? Why would you feel the need to protect me?" The shock was not only evident in his tone, but clear as day on his face. He hadn't expected this of her. The Red Lady to protect him, a royal vampire? Something about it seemed wrong, but in her mind it was the easiest decision.

"You see, Alya is my right hand, my woman in waiting if you will. While I am considered the Red Lady, she is the Red Woman. If you had proven to be a threat, she would take command and kill you. No matter my word since I would be considered incapacitated due to my refusal to kill you. The easiest solution, take the threat and remove it from the equation in totality." Marinette's eyes lingered on the floor, at the arrow that laid chopped in half. She had put herself in danger to protect a man, no, a vampire that she hardly knew. But everything about the entire situation no longer had anxiety fluttering in her chest, instead she knew this was fate's hand, showing her the way and guiding her down the path that she was supposed to take. "That and I would have no right to refuse her if you had been conscious when I named her."

Adrien had been about to take a sip of his tea and instead dropped the cup back to the table. "Did you say that you named her?"

"Correct. As head of the society it is my sworn duty to know the entire oral history so that I may pass it down to my kin. It would be their duty to take up the mantle." Marinette said in such a matter fact tone that the blonde balked.

"And what if you had a son?"

"I would have to try for a daughter. Or when he came of age he could choose whether he would forsake his identity and take the mantle himself. Children should not be subjected to such weighted choices though. Besides, my family has a history of daughters always being the first born, sometimes being the only one born."

"And in my family it has always been the son is first born and takes the throne."

"I see no reason why we are even discussing such things, if your intent is to unify the society with your realm then there should be no reason for such talks. The Red Lady society would no longer have to carry such ludicrous traditions." Marinette waved her hand through the air trying to finalize her words.

Adrien snatched her hand and held it between his own. This one had the tendency to seek out physical attention and Marinette couldn't find it in herself to be annoyed with such a fact. "But I am only doing what I told you, I am learning from you. Whether you wish to continue traditions or leave them, I want to learn them."

She was in awe of his sincerity once again. He wanted to know her, to learn her and her ways. "Oh," she took a fluttering breath before continuing, "then would you like to see the book of Red?"

"The book of Red?"

"There are no words visible to the eye unless properly trained. Follow me." So she stood and felt him follow her through the doorway to her bedroom. She was blessed that she had made her bed and left her laundry put away in the drawers along her wall. She knelt and pulled up the floorboards, revealing a gaping hole, and from within she pulled out a red leather bound book.

"That's your history. That is the Red Lady history, isn't it?"

"Not quite. It is the stories of old. Prophecies completed, spells created, and most importantly the woman who lived to tell their tales." Marinette placed the book on top of the chest and cracked it open to the page she adored most. "Maeva introduced the creation of our codes."

He crowded her personal space as he inspected the book. "It is only pictures, what could possibly be revealed?"

Marinette's smile flickered as she took his shoulder and guided him closer. "Blink and look closer. Start at the edge of the image."

She watched him with careful eyes, watching the way he slowly blinked and leaned in. The sudden inspired awe that lit his eyes with flames of excitement as he inspected the intricate designs. "There's an entire story in this image!"

"Of course there is. A picture is worth a thousand words, but this one is worth eight thousand." She watched him absorb the story of the tale of Maeva's husband protecting her when she had been cut down from her horse. 

They sat in silence for what was only a few minutes, but it was somewhere between a lifetime and a moment to Marinette. She enjoyed seeing the emotions that crossed him. Amazement, surprise, anger, and finally something akin to being pleased. He sat back and caught her staring at him. "What is it?"

"Such emotions. It is such a rare sight to see on someone of your kind. I have never seen more than maybe three in my lifetime. Why is that?" She timidly brought her hand up and placed it against his cheek. He nuzzled the warmth of her palm and smiled.

"My lady, you have only seen my kind when you are hunting. Imagine if you saw an entire village and had no knowledge of the fact that the entire occupancy was vampires. You would not be able to tell lest you check everyone's teeth. You would only think it was the same as your own. People living in solitude and enjoying the company of one another."

"Such places exist?"

"Marinette, there is an entire realm of them. You just had no knowledge of their existence. You have visited one of them yourself, the people recognize you and make sure to be friendly. I watched a woman tend to the wound and that was the first time I laid eyes on you and decided you were the most beautiful woman in the universe." His hand traced along her shoulder, on top of a scar that could compete as the worst wound she had received. A vampire had actually taken her knife and used it against her.

"Jacovia?"

"The city itself is only a walk from my kingdom."

A soft gasp left her lips. The boy had been her age. She was only 15 when it had happened. She had collapsed on her walk through the city while unmasked. A man had come and taken her elbow, guiding her to the healer. She had been so sure of herself that she wouldn't survive, that she just had to get to the town over to say goodbye to her mother and father, when she realized she wouldn't make it. The blonde boy that had been there with a cut knee jumped up and helped her to the bed. He had helped the healer with cleaning her wound and offered to get her a horse to the village, but she had thanked them, paid, and continued walking. "You cleaned my cut?"

"I did. It was before I had turned 16 so I hadn't yet been able to hear your thoughts. The healer asked me afterwards if I had been struck with love, and I had agreed. She told me just who you were, but to me that mattered little, I just knew I had to see you again. Once the day of my birth passed, my father told me of all the prophecies that were yet to come to fruition."

"The prophecy of the old earth."

"Indeed." He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "It only took me a decade to bring everything to where it is today, and now that I am here with you I never want to let you go."

"You'll have to. I need a week to prepare."

"Only a week?"

"For preparing my home and the society. After that it may take longer, but that depends on how everyone reacts. If at all possible my plan is to make this as painless as I can."

"Then allow me to help you. Tell me the terms, and I will make everything fall into place."

"Listen closely, chaton. I don't like to repeat myself."

And now here Marinette was, a week later, observing the women gathered in her living room, splayed across chairs and leaning on walls, sipping at the mead she had left from the fall season. There was not much left, but it would be enough. "You must be feeling better, I guarantee that monsoon washed away whatever fever you had. Alya told me you were up and about when she visited." Her mother said touching her shoulder.

"Maybe. Currently I feel like I'd rather be sick," Marinette sighed.

Her mother knew something was wrong before she had even arrived. Marinette was never sick. Never canceled meetings, never missed anything. "Talk to me, my dear, I can't read your mind."

"Mama, you know that I wouldn't hide something from you without reason, yes?" Marinette asked, watching her crowd of friends, no, the crowd of family. Women chatting idly, discussing new weapons they were practicing, where they had last heard rumors. How different this meeting was about to go and not a single one of them besides Alya knew.

"Darling, you know better than to try to hide anything. Word always gets back to me eventually." Her words tore Marinette's heart apart. She never hid anything not because her mother always found out, but because she loved and trusted the woman with her entire being.

"Let's just get this over with. You'll understand everything, I promise, but I'm going to apologize now because my decisions are already set in stone." Marinette said, taking a step away from the table she had leaned against. Her mother called her name but she was in motion and the confidence building in her chest would be reduced to nothing if she stopped now.

"Ladies of Red."

"We are the Lady Red."

The echo in her home was louder than usual. She had full attention on her. She couldn't say she preferred it either. Every set of eyes was scanning her, searching for the illness she had been stricken with. Looking for the very reason she would have possibly deserted them the week prior.

"My ladies, I bring news."

"Marinette, are you better?" Rose shouted.

"I was never sick. I had to keep myself in the shadows while I handled a situation on my own." She cast her eyes on Alya who was frowning and shaking her head in disbelief of what Marinette was doing and saying. "I understand that you were concerned for my health, but it was a necessity."

Alix was the next one who called out. "Then why tell us you were sick when we could have helped you? Why would you lie if you are our leader?"

Someone beside her clicked their tongue. "Obviously it's because Marinette doesn't want us to get all panicked while she does her job."

Marinette smiled gratefully at her cousin. Bridgette nodded and waved her hand so that Marinette would continue. "She's correct. I refused to allow you to get yourself into the mess that I cleaned up. We all need to remain calm while I explain the situation. I am going to begin with the retelling of the prophecy."

"Which one?" Her mother voiced from behind her.

"True heirs must complete the throne to unite the forces to right natures wrong. The prophecy of old earth." The lack of sound around her beckoned her to continue. "It has been brought to my attention that it is time for us to complete the cycle. No longer can we ignore it and let it tear our world apart."

The sound of a sob pulling from her mother's throat broke her heart but she refused to turn and look at her, she knew she would lose her composure. A week to settle into learning about Adrien Agreste and the lifestyle he was accustomed to. Of negotiating terms and coming to a mutual respect. He had showered her with affection, but also given her the space she required.

"Doesn't that require the true heir of the original Red Lady?" She wasn't sure who said it, but she saw the tear tracks that dragged down Alya's face and bit her tongue.

"Yes it does. And that's why it is my duty to fulfill." Bridgette's hand clasped around Marinette's in support. She hadn't even realized she was trembling as she spoke. Not with fear, but with anxiety of the women in her life leaving her. "I am the 5th generation of Redock. I am the great great granddaughter of Maeva Redock. It is my sworn duty to protect the society and to finish its work by any means necessary."

"What are the means in the case of this prophecy?" Juleka whispered.

Marinette nodded, bringing herself to toe the edge, stare into the abyss and then take a leap of faith with no life line to save her now in case she can't fly. "I have been in talks with the royal vampire prince Adrien Agreste, he has accepted my terms, and we will be wed in the coming weeks."

Chaos broke out in the form of shouts and the sound of metal hitting the wooden floorboards as glasses were dropped. ‘You would dare cohort with a vampire without discussing with us?’’ How could you do this to us?’ ‘Why you, and why now?’ None of those broke her heart as much as hearing her mother shout, "My baby!"

She held her hand up and waited for the shouts to subside, but they refused. Questions thrown like knives, intending to carve her heart out of her chest and make sure that she mourned with them. She refused to allow for the tears to form, instead making sure to turn her face to stone before taking a breath. "Silence! You wish to question me? Question Fate itself for giving the prophecy?"

The words slowed and quieted, but others were still whispering among themselves, all eyes boring into her flesh as she watched them. "Thank you. Now is not the time for questioning what Fate has already directed. I did not ask for this, but the opportunity was presented to me and allowed for me to take it without any harm befalling a single soul."

"You would risk your soul to save everyone's," Bridgette said from the corner where she was holding tight to a sobbing Sabine. "Would you not?"

"I would sacrifice my entire existence if it meant that I could make it so that everyone's lives were better off." Marinette agreed. The whispers hushed into a screaming silence. "I would take any necessary risk if it meant I could relieve you from your duties and make it so that our world was whole once more. This is the only way."

"Luka knows of the prophecy." Juleka spoke up again. "He has an interpretation of it that you may wish to know."

"What of it?"

Juleka took Marinette's hand and guided her to her bedroom before closing the curtain behind the pair. "Now I don't know the entirety of his thesis, but he's a scholar so I would assume he has a deeper understanding than the rest of us, so you have the choice to believe me or completely disregard this."

"Juleka, I have no reason to not believe either yourself or your brother."

"True heirs, that would be you and he as the first borns of the blood beginners. That part is simple. Now completing the throne. You would be on the right track to believe that means marriage, but Luka thinks there's more to it than that. What happens when the Royal family is complete in a cycle?" The wheels were turning in Marinette's head, letting the words sink in and form into sense.

"They have a family, children."

"That would mean that not only would you have to marry the vampire prince, but you would have to bear his child. And see it through to fruition. Vampire human hybrids are unheard of. And trying to betray nature in such a form may be what kills you, Marinette. Is attempting to fix an old prophecy really worth your life?" 

Worth her life? It was fate knocking on the door and she had already opened it. "Fate will see it through, whether I follow willingly or kicking and screaming. If it requires me to bear his child to fix nature's wrong and keep our earth from further destruction, I will do whatever is necessary."

"Marinette, they won't let you stay human."

"So I've realized, Jules. There's no choice in the matter. Fate has shown it's hand and now I must follow along whether I wish to or not. Do not bring this up with them, tell our women what it is they need to hear, which is that Luka thought it could be avoided if a spell were performed, but the ingredients are from times beginnings and unable to be procured." Marinette clapped her hands around her friends and squeezed, trying to give the woman the courage.

"I thought lies were only for the supernatural?"

"Lies are for those that have to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. If they all knew that was what I had to do, they would never allow me to, but this is my fate. I was born for this and have no choice in the matter, but I will do it with my head high and my hand on my hilt. No one messes with the Red Lady and comes out a winner, not even ourselves." Marinette leaned over and placed a peck on her friend's cheek.

They quickly vacated the bedroom, and Marinette announced exactly what she had already decided to tell them. Juleka shook her head with regret, but most saw it as a sign of agreement that the spell was impossible. Soon they all came forward to embrace her one at a time. The second to last being Alya who gripped Marinette's shoulder and sighed. "If you were so hell intent on this death wish, I would have never respected you and allowed you to keep him alive."

"Yet here we are. And you are going to let me follow through with this so that they all have peace."

"As begrudgingly as possible, my Lady."

"Alya, in my terms I am allowed to bring one of my women with me. Please, come with me. Not for my protection, but to be my friend during this insanity." Her friend scanned her face.

"This is a dangerous game that you are insisting to play, Marinette." They both stared at one another. "I'll be here at dawn break with my belongings. I have no promises about keeping myself in check when it comes to taking out your groom."

"I'll keep that in mind. I'll see you at dawn break." A kiss on the cheek and her best friend was leaving. The last one to approach her was her mother.

Sabine Cheng-Red had never been one that ever looked weak, but here she was with tear tracks and swollen eyes. The red that filled her face was befitting of her name, but here and now it was a standoff. "You went forward with this foolishness with no guidance and no protection and no thought."

It was a statement, not a question. Marinette knew better than to speak yet. Instead she yielded and awaited the next words that would leave her mother's lips and potentially reduce her to a pile of ashes.

"And yet I find myself filled with pride and hope. I truly believe that if anyone can do it, it shall be you my love. I hope you find happiness in your marriage."

"Won't you be there, mother?"

"No darling. This is a path that I cannot follow you down. When you are able to come home, you will always be welcome but alas, I cannot come to their world without being killed on sight. They know me as being the true Red Lady. I doubt they will know better than to realize that the mantle has been passed to you." Sabine pulled Marinette into a tight hug and fresh tears squeezed from her eyes. "Do our house proud. Take the throne and fulfill the prophecy with a smile upon your lips. Unite the realms and calm everything that crosses your path. I know you can do it, my daughter. I love you."

"I love you too."

Her home was empty. She placed the important items within her bag that she was going to bring with her, but the remainder she left inside. The village knew to not enter and anyone who would probably need the materials more than she would herself.

Then the knock at the door echoed through the dark rooms and startled her from where she sat in her chair, anticipating his arrival. She pushed herself to her feet and made her way to the front door. She pulled it open and was surprised to find her doorway darkened by two figures. One slumped on the others shoulder. "May we enter?"

The one who spoke she didn't recognize, but the one being held up was most definitely Adrien, who was not glancing up at all. "Enter under the rights and rules I reserve for until we can discuss. Bring him in and put him on the table." The door slammed behind them and he threw Adrien atop her kitchen table. She carefully assessed his form and was confused by her findings.

"Light the candle please, I can hardly see."

"Unless you know how to heal a vampire, there's not much you can do for him Red Lady. I don't even understand why he demanded we come here." The man snarled at her, but he did as she asked. The flame flickered to life and she found the source of his blood loss. A deep wound was on the back of his head.

"How did this happen, sir?" She said quickly, grabbing honey and moss from her cabinets. She dumped the honey into a bowl and grabbed her spoon to wet the moss with the honey so that it would stay in place and prevent further blood loss.

"My name is Nino, lady. And this happened after he discussed something with his father in the king's chambers. As he exited his father assaulted him. The last thing he said was to bring him here to you." Marinette sighed and slammed her fist on the table. 

"I told him to wait. He got himself hurt over that."

Nino blinked at her as she scrambled around, searching for the clean fabric she left out for wounds. "You told him to wait?"

"Of course. What was he thinking? He says his father has a temper and instead of awaiting for me to stand at his side for backup he goes ahead of the terms and plan and puts himself into this mess. Is your blade clean?" Marinette asked as she ripped the fabric into strips. Moss wasn't going to cut it, she was going to tie the fabric in place to keep it in place since his golden locks would get in the way. 

"I polished it?"

"Damn it. The polish would infect the wound." Marinette grabbed the medical blade off the wall and ran it through the flame before pouring some water atop it so that it cooled. She hiked her skirt and saw Nino turn faster than any human could.

"Warn a man, lady."

She rolled her eyes and sliced into her skin. Not deep enough to cause damage, but enough to draw the blood she needed. She guided the blood into the bowl of honey before tying off the wound on her leg. Quickly she mixed the blood and honey before dipping the bandages into it. 

"Hold his head up." Following Nino's movements she wrapped the wound. Some of the blood that had not mixed with the honey rested in the bottom of the bowl and gave her an idea. "Keep his mouth open for me."

She tipped the bowl into his mouth and pressed her hand to his throat, manually forcing him to swallow. "That should do it."

"You know how to heal a vampire?"

"I know how to keep one alive long enough to make them wish they were dead. The healing will have to be from him this time." Marinette sighed. "Thank you for bringing him here, Nino."

That seemed to confuse the man more than he already was. "I'm beyond lost, lady. Why are you thanking me for dumping a royal vampire on your table? Why are you healing him when you hunt vampires? He was only just trying to kill you a week ago, what has changed?"

Marinette paused. Who was this man to Adrien? He had only told her of his father who ruled with an iron fist and his mother who had disappeared moons ago with no glimmer of hope to find her. He had never mentioned a Nino. She took caution in her words and said, "Let him tell you once he wakes."

So she brewed them both a cup of tea and they sat in the living room, watching each other as the next wave of the monsoon crashed outside and the lone candle cast an eerie glow across her home. "If you wish to sleep, I'll stay up waiting for him. The bed is just through there."

"I'll stay up waiting for him, you humans still sleep, no?"

"As do you."

They both stayed seated and by the time that Adrien stirred, they had both drifted off under the sounds of the storm and the silence among them. Adrien touched Marinette's shoulder and woke her. "My lady." He whispered.

"Chaton, you went against my terms."

"Only because I was doing what I thought best to get your safety secured before dawn." He cast his eyes down and refused to meet her eyes. She watched as he blinked and took her hand to kiss her knuckles.

Marinette leaned out of her chair and dropped to her knees so that they were at the same height. "You know I can fend for myself. Your father does not stand a chance against me, no matter his strength or power."

"But he could whisper to you to kill yourself and you would fall on your own blade. I refuse to allow him the ability to control you." Adrien said as he gripped both of her shoulders and pulled her until she was only a breath away from him.

"I would never. No one has that type of control over me."

Adrien dragged his fingers down until he gripped her biceps and squeezed the bare skin. She knew he was checking her for any type of disbelief in her own words, but he would not find any there. No, she knew herself and knew her abilities. No vampire could control her, not even King Gabriel Agreste.

Marinette felt the pressure on her arms fade and smiled up at him. "Mari, you did that for me?"

"What?"

"Your blood? You used your blood to heal me?" Adrien's whisper caused thrills to coarse up her spine and across her skin. She nodded and watched the way his eyes widened in the fire. "Does it not go against everything you ever stood for?"

"As does marrying you, but I have no qualms about it. Besides, why would I stand and do nothing while you bled out on my table?"

Her words sunk into the floor, dropped between them with an intensity she hadn't realized was surrounding them and their conversation. The butterflies stirred in her stomach and she swallowed trying to calm them. The oxygen between them felt thin, her head felt light, and she was being sucked into a vortex that was Adrien. Her arms flung around his neck as she tackled them to the floor, knocking him flat on his back, their lips sealed together in a passionate kiss. Her legs were straddling his hips, causing her skirt to flare out and cover their legs entirely.

He held her tight to his chest and didn't let go. Neither of them wanted to pull away, but Marinette had to pull back and gasp for air. Instead of the assault against her neck that she had anticipated, she found his eyes on hers. "You're the most beautiful woman in history, Marinette."

The blush on her cheeks was hot enough to rival a roaring inferno, but she didn't find herself scrambling away or attempting to hide her face. Instead she reached out and touched his shoulder. "Mon chaton, your words are too kind."

"It is only the truth which I speak, my lady. Do you care to let me show you?"

"Show me?" He tenderly placed his palms on her cheeks and the next thing she knew was that she no longer saw him, but what she assumed was herself through the way he saw her. Her shiny black blue hair shimmered in candlelight, her cheeks hot enough that the color peeked around his palms. Her eyes shone with wonder and her lips were full and pink.

His hands dropped and she was back to gazing into his eyes once more. "You're wonderful."

"Marinette, I want to stay here, and especially right here, but I need to leave. Unfortunately the amount of blood you used to heal me was not quite enough. I wouldn't wish to press my control or my luck by staying." He smiled. "So if you could kindly, my princess, allow me to stand?"

However Marinette was frozen to the spot. "First, answer a question I have, my prince." Her voice was something that seemed stronger than she felt.

Adrien slowly blinked and nodded. "Whatever question you have I will do my best to answer."

"According to a scholar I discussed the prophecy with, there may be an interpretation we had not considered." Marinette started. 

"Which one?"

"He believes that a royal cycle must be fulfilled in order to complete the throne. Having children."

"I am not hearing a question here, my lady." Adrien frowned and gazed up at Marinette.

She took a deep breath and nodded. "My question is, was that your understanding?"

"I believed it to be a possibility. Now may I get up?"

"I suppose this is a multi faceted question, Adrien."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I am at your disposal."

Lip tucked between her teeth, she gazed down and studied his face. "What if, no, would it be a requirement that I change?"

"Change how?" Adrien's eye brows furrowed as he reached up and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"If I, well, allowed you to change me? Would I have to?" Marinette's voice was quiet, but he heard her. Even over the roar of her pounding heart and rapid breathing, he heard the exact question, and if possible he paled at it.

His eyes flicked up and he stared at the roof of her home. "I suppose that is why I spoke with my father today. I told him I would refuse to force the change on you as he had my mother. That was why he hit me with the hilt of his sword today. He told me that if I followed through with what he sees as a foolish plot that my happiness will evaporate and my life will have no meaning other than death and sorrow."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means, Marinette, that I would never think to force your hand, but if it came to saving your life, I would have to fight myself from making a choice for you that you may hate me for." Adrien couldn't meet her eyes, he was too struck with guilt at his honesty. The honesty that she adored above all else.

She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his forehead, causing him to gasp at the sudden contact that he hadn't been anticipating. "Marinette, I will answer your questions in a bit, but you need to let me leave, now." He groaned.

The flicker of the flame was all the time it took for the words to come out. "One more. How do you hunt?"

He shut his eyes and groaned. "I find a woman alone in a public place and get to know her before offering to walk her home and once she welcomes me, I feed and leave after wiping her memory. Now, my Red Lady, I don’t think I can ask nicely anymore, get off me. I don’t want to hurt you or ruin your trust in me.”

“I don’t see how you possibly could hunt in your current state, mon chaton.” Marinette ran her hand through his hair, letting honey and her blood pick up on her fingers. “Any woman would run at the sight of you.”

“Then I’ll have to take my chances,” He grabbed her hand and tried to push her away gently, but she grabbed onto the front of his shirt and bit her lip.

“I won’t let you. I still swear to protect this village in its entirety.”

“Marinette,”

“I refuse to allow you to leave this home in your current state. The others are still under my protection and I refuse to allow any harm to befall them from the supernatural kind.” Her words didn’t tremble. She knew better than to allow him to see the true fear that clouded her heart. Curiosity was deadly, and she was beckoning it to her doorstep at a fatal rate.

“You know what that means, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“I can’t do that to you, Marinette.”

“I don’t believe I’m giving you the choice, Adrien.”

He leaned in, his nose brushing along her jaw. His lips placing a chaste kiss to her throat. “Is this another one of your house rules?”

“This is a rule of my own conduct. I swore to protect others over my own well being, this included.”

“You heal me with your blood, and now you wish me to be greedy and take more?”

“Is it greed if I allow it?”

“Mmm, fair enough, Princess.” He gave her time to think and he threaded his fingers into her hair and pulled her head back, exposing her throat to him. The warning bells sounded, but she ignored them as his hot breath pooled against her skin. A shiver raced across her, anticipation built. And just like that, he sunk his fangs into her. 

The feeling was hot, like the blade had been against her skin in many of her scars. She felt light as a feather as his tongue lapped up the blood that poured from the wound he had created. He didn’t make a sound as he drank from her, unlike the many vampires she had witnessed. No, this man was still polite even as he took from her the very thing she swore no vampire would.

He pressed his tongue to the wound on her pulse and she blinked at the strange feeling. He pulled away and she wanted to reach up and touch the place, but he took hold of her wrist. “I don’t suggest that.”

“Why not?”

“Your skin is healing itself currently. Give it a moment.”

So she did. She stared into his eyes and waited for him to release her. He released her hand and took hold of her chin, tilting her head slightly so that he could see better in the candle light. “There, now it’s healed.”

Sure enough, when her fingers came in contact with the place the mark should have been, nothing was there. “Incredible.”

“That’s how we’re able to cover our tracks better. Some vampires are a little too reckless though to get away with it.” Adrien said as he kissed her forehead. It was those feather light affections that she had grown to cherish between them.

“I always wondered.” The world spun and she leaned into him, burying her face into his chest.

“That would be the blood loss kicking in. Sleep, my dear. I’ll wake you in the morning.”

“Alya will be here at dawn.”

“I’m sure she won’t kill me if she sees you sleeping.”

“Don’t tempt her,” she yawned. “Chaton.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, my lady. Now rest. I’ll protect you.”

Her eyes fluttered shut and she listened to the slow beat of his heart. The cool skin of his chest that was exposed felt nice against her warm cheeks. She just hoped that when she woke, Alya wouldn’t have killed him.


End file.
